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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

For The Love of Ballerina Dishes

Several years ago, when shipping on ebay was very cheap...I started to discover some dishes from the 50's that i just absolutely loved....... Ballerina by Universal potteries..... I am always looking for made in USA dishes....made in England comes in a close second...okay, France too.....

It was easy going for a while because it seemed as if no one else was interested in these dishes....so I casually began to collect them when the price was right.....

Then someone named Ballerina Lady started to outbid me on every auction......these lime green bowls were a hot ticket item for a while.. so I lost interest because she was determined to outbid me every time......but I had built up quite an extensive set of these wonderful dishes....this table is set with the many shades of green but there are several other Ballerina colors that could be used...maroon, grey,yellow,turquoise,black, cream, and burnt orange

I found this perfect tablecloth while searching my thrift store last month and then I knew I could set a nice Ballerina table...the colors are a great match..I love the colors of the 50's..they usually go together if you stay in the same family..like green or grey or burgundy......

these napkins are true vintage...they are my favorite ones and have seen many, many years of use...they came from my Aunt Abby and I got them around 1976 or so... wish I had more...

I included this grey bowl because there is a story behind it.....this bowl belonged to my Mama..she always used it when she made egg and olive salad ......and it is the very first piece of Ballerina pottery I owned even though I didn't realize that's what it was......

These square and scalloped salad plates are my favorite pieces of the whole set...

One more little story...I bought a huge collection of all green pieces from a man in Tennessee...even a butter dish...and it was so cheap.......so boy was I excited, UNTIL...the box arrived...you know that dreaded sound when a box of dishes comes to your door and it is rattling when you pick it up...not good.....not good at all....when I opened the box it was full of broken Ballerina.pottery..hundreds of pieces....I was able to glean a few unbroken pieces but I learned my lesson about asking about shipping and buying huge quantities of dishes from one seller...but mostly I was sad that all of those pieces of Ballerina pottery were gone forever...

Here is just a small sampling of my collection...hot weather, summer and green Ballerina dishes just go together for me.....add a bowl of tomatoes and what could be prettier than that??

If you are not familiar with these dishes, i hope I have whetted your appetite..next time you are out at estate sales keep your eyes open..there are many patterned Ballerina dishes too...the combinations are countless and beautiful..

I hope you have enjoyed this short look at some remarkable dishes from the 50's...I am doing my part to help them survive another 50 years...

I have a pretty full set of ballerina dishes that were my mother's. They are dark green, light green, gray and maroon. My mom used them for 'company' in the 50s. I love them. They have gone with me from MN to Alaska and now to Eastern WA.